Apple Music launches Tuesday — here’s everything you need to know about the service
Starting Tuesday morning, Apple Music will finally be available for users. The latest streaming service has already faced controversy thanks to Taylor Swift’s successful call-out of their now-changed free trial policy, but even controversy hasn’t dampened excitement or anticipation. Once the music king thanks to iTunes, this new service has Apple hoping to once again corner the ever-growing online music market. But unlike in the past, when iTunes was completely unique, Apple will be competing with a lot of similar services, including Spotify and the very similar Google Play Music.
Ahead of tomorrow’s launch, here’s what you need to know about the new service!
You might need to upgrade your iOS.
Senior director of Apple Music Ian Rogers casually mentioned a new iOS upgrade will be available tomorrow, coinciding with the launch of Apple Music. “Tuesday morning we’ll be unveiling the next chapter. Please make a note to upgrade to iOS 8.4 Tuesday, June 30th and listen to our first day of broadcasting.” According to the Apple Music website, you’ll need to update your iPhone to iOS, while Mac and PC users will have to update their iTunes.
Your first three months are free.
Taylor Swift managed to get Apple to change their policy surrounding a free trial, but the cost of paying artists for their songs won’t be handed down to users. After that lengthy free trial, the service will cost $9.99 per month. There’s also a “family” option available for $14.99, which is designed for up to six users. If you aren’t looking to pay, there’s also a free option available to anyone with an Apple id. You can listen to the radio station Beats 1 and all Apple Music stations, but with limited skipping. Think Pandora or what Spotify sounds like if you opt for the free version.
Membership gets you access to basically unlimited music.
With that $9.99 per month, you get to stream anything from the 30 million+ catalog Apple Music has put together. Albums, songs, artists, playlists — the service has it all at your fingertips. Specialized playlists curated based on your taste are available, and Siri will be integrated so that she can pick a song for you, if you’re just feeling too indecisive. The streaming is unlimited, as are the skips on the radio stations.
You need Apple now, but Android is coming.
Although at the moment you need to have an Apple device to stream Apple Music, this fall Android users will be able to opt into the service as well.
To sign up for your free-trial, visit Apple Music and get ready to start streaming tomorrow morning!
We need to talk about Apple Music. It’s gonna be huge.
Taylor Swift stood up to Apple, and won a HUGE victory for all musicians
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